I was sure that the pimpl design pattern was an interesting thing. It was made so that one can hide compile-time dependencies to the end-user, allowing faster compile times.
However, as you know, pimpl starts with a p. And that's the big issue: pointers. So having a nice API implies memory fragmentation and cache misses? Surely, no!
Let me present you the Aft pattern, a pimpl with no p!
Everyone with little experience will tell you: if you want to program your own game engine, C++ will allow you to get the performances you need. Indeed, C is missing high-level quality-of-life features, and there are no other practical choices.
Well, that state of mind is changing among game developers.
Let's focus on why C++ is slowly digging his own grave.
Ever now and then, I find myself looking for a way to log an enum. Fun fact is, even if it is easy to actually log it, it is hard to maintain. Having to keep a switch instruction in sync with code content, or generating a new file during a pre-build step, is not exciting. We can do better, right?
lava uses multiple design patterns, but any usage of those are driven by two core principles: